The 30th Squadron and Servicing Website

	Avenger "PLONKY"

Above: Left is the real nose art from NZ2518 "Plonky" (RNZAF Official Photograph) and right is the nose art
recreated on ZK-TBM "Plonky" (Photo: Dave Homewood, April 1993)

The Story of NZ2518 "PLONKY"

 

NZ2518 was a Grumman TBF-1C model Avenger, builder's number Bu47733. It arrived in New Zealand onboard the SS Schenectedyand was asseblembled by No.1 Aircraft Depot, at RNZAF Station Hobsonville.

The aircraft was brought on charge with the RNZAF officially on the 15th of December 1943 with Unit 36, Hobsonville. Once the flying tests were complete, NZ2518 was despatched to No. 30 Squadron, at RNZAF Station Gisborne.

When the Avenger aircraft were being allocated to their eager crews, they were allowed permission to adorn their new personal mounts with individual nose art. A signwriter was brought in to paint on favoured emblems, most being cartoon characters from popular movies of the day.

However one of the pilots in No. 30 Squadron went against the trend of picking Disney characters. Instead, Fred Ladd devised a nose art that he felt was most appropriate. He was a teetotaler at the time and he considered his portly plane to look a lot like a beer barrel. So he came up with the artwork seen above, "Plonky" the flying beer-barrel, which was seen drizzling beer over the enemy Japanese below him - something he thought was quite an insult.

Plonky and his crew departed from Gisborne on the long ferry flight to Espiritu Santos on the 24th of January 1944. Once into combat in the forward area, the planes of No. 30 Squadron had their nose art removed, because higher powers considered, quite rightly, that if the planes had crash-landed the artwork may have been seen by the enemy Japanese as provocative in some cases.

NZ2518 flew to the end of No. 30 Squadron's tour in the Pacific, and when the squadron was relieved by replacements No. 31 Squadron, the plane was handed to them. Sadly, Plonky was hit by flak near Rapopo Airfield, New Britain at about 10:45 hours on the 5th ofJune 1944. The aircraft caught fire and dived into the ground and was destroyed. The crew, consisting of Flight Lieutenant Charles Prior, Flying Officer Sydney Clayton and Warrant Officer Theo Scarlett were all killed. The remains of the aircraft and crew were not being discovered until some years later, but the aircraft was written off books at Bougainville shortly after the aircraft had failed to return.

 

PLONKY's Return

In 1993 a Grumman Avenger returned to New Zealand skies when warbirds collector Sir Tim Wallis, of Wanaka, purchased a TBM Avenger from the UK-based Old Flying Machine Company.

The Avenger was shipped to New Zealand along with the also-purchased Zero replica (of Tora, Tora, Tora movie fame), and both made their debut airshow appearance the same week at the Auckland International Airshow, at Mangere, for the airport's 50th Anniversary.

At this time the Avenger wore the colours of an Avenger aircraft that had been flown by US President George Bush (senr.) during the Second World War. But being a true Kiwi, Sir Tim wanted to repaint the aircraft in RNZAF colours. What better scheme could he choose than that of "Plonky", NZ2518, which was the personal aircraft of the late Fred Ladd. Many New Zealanders fondly remembered Freddy Ladd for his highjinks after the war, starting several airlines in Fiji and New Zealand, and most famously for flying under the Auckland Harbour Bridge. He had always been reknowned for his cheeky high spirits and was a popular public figure right up till his death in 1989.

So the Avenger arrived at RNZAF Base Wigram, Christchurch, in April 1993 to undergo transformation from George Bush's aircraft scheme to that of Plonky. This was undertaken by the RNZAF Safety and Surface team (this being the trade that carried out all aircraft and component painting on the base at the time), on behalf of the RNZAF Museum. I was part of the paint team and I also took exclusive photographs of the transformation from day one when we rubbed back the old paintwork through to the roll-out many days later. These photos are but a few of the ones I took, and have been reduced in quality greatly to appear here. They are the copyright of Dave Homewood.

 

Legendary Warbirds pilot, the late Mark Hanna, taxied the TBM Avenger into Wigram on the weekend

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Work began on Monday morning in No. 2 Hangar, where five of us set to with Scotchbright green pot-scourers and rubbed back the old paint, which meant that it could act as a good undercoat for the new paint and not have to be completely stripped, and the roughness allowed the new paint to stick. This was yucky, messy work

Next Day we took the Avenger to No. 6 Hangar and began masking her up for the new scheme.

Now that masking was complete the new colours could be applied. In itself, this task had been highly researched by ourselves in the team, plus RNZAF Museum staff, Alpine Fighter Collection staff and other volunteers who had also come to assist, so we got the scheme just right. We had many sessions pouring over photos and drawings, and I accompanied Sgt Denis Gibbons (now Warrant Officer in charge of the RNZAF Museum restoration team, but then my boss in the S&S team) as we clambered all over the RNZAF Museum's own TBF-1C to get measurements and details of markings.

The blue coat goes on. In the background is the Wigram Gate Guard awaiting its turn - we painted it into the red/grey scheme it now wears just after this Avenger was completed

Markings and finishing touches being applied - left Vaughn MacAllistar finishes a fuselage roundel, centre Steve Leach unmasks a wing roundel and right Trevor Platt works on the nose art

 

Sgt Trevor Platt of NATTS Maintenance Crew put his artistic skills to recreating the famous Plonky nose art. This was maticulaously recreated in both size and colour, to match the original

Roll out - the Friday. This was, as usual, a glorious Wigram autumn day, and Plonky took her place beside her Alpine Fighter Collection stablemates, the P-40K Kittyhawk and Zero replica (flown here by Simon Spencer-Bower to mark the occasion)

The full painting crew were:

Sgt Denis Gibbons
Cpl Steve Leach
LAC Vaughn MacAllistar
LAC Dave Homewood
LAC Aaron Lyttle
AC Max Cawley
Sgt Trevor Platt (nose art)

Sadly, Plonky was sold a few years ago and now resides in Australia where the aircraft was repainted in US colours by new owner Randall Macfarlane. Howeverr it is still well-loved, and the aircraft continues to fly at airshows there, as well as doing some film work in Australia too.

There is great hope on the horizon nowadays that another Avenger may be brought to these shores. Several projects are in place. So hopefuly soon we shall see another in RNZAF colours in our skies soon.